Carefree
by SayukiChoco
Summary: 'How can she remain so happy all the time' Ashe wondered about a certain Dalmascan girl. What she doesn't know is that being cheerful is harder than it seems Ashe's POV .


**Author's note: **Finally there was someone who agreed to help me along with my mistakes in this story! A very big thank you to Elle-L!

Anyway, this is just a little fiction I wrote when I was bored and I love Penelo and Ashe, they are both such wonderful characters. Well, this is just a little bit about their relationship, but it's nothing big, please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy XII or its characters.

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**Carefree**

How can she remain so happy all the time?

Always staying so cheerful… Ashe sighed. That was an ability she certainly lost two years ago.

She used to be happy once, as she got to know Rasler and learned to love him. It really did seem like an arranged marriage- well, it was, sort of. But still would she never forget the smile he wore on the day they first met each other.

She fell in love with him instantly.

But now he was gone and not only him but also her father. There was no one left whom she could be happy for, she didn't even have the will to smile. Only her kingdom remained and Ashe wasn't sure yet if that was something she should be happy about.

Ruling a kingdom had nothing to do with happiness. Ruling a kingdom meant attention and effort, intrigues and lies. How could she be happy when everyone around her tried to fool her?

"Watch out Vaan! There's another one of those monsters. You don't want to get eaten by it!"

Ashe heard Penelo's voice from ahead. She was the one who had fallen behind the group for a change. She just needed time to think and didn't want to be disturbed by anybody.

Suddenly, she heard screaming. Ashe grasped her sword, alarmed. But it was only Vaan and Penelo who were splashing each other with water. Their screaming turned into laughter, so Ashe relaxed again.

Ah yes. They still were at the Phon Coast, Ashe remembered. During all this thinking, she almost forgot where they were currently located.

Laughter resounded again. Laughter, which forced her to concentrate her attention on Vaan and Penelo again, especially on the latter.

Up until now, Penelo was always cheerful. Of course there were times when she was quiet too, when all the death and suffering got to her as well. But she was never quiet for long. She was always the first to recover after a shock.

Always sun and light. That was her character. That was what made her different from the others.

All of sudden, Ashe felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the sudden contact and looked straight into the face of the one she was just pondering so intensely.

"I… I just wanted to inform you that we will stay here over night", Penelo stammered, pointing over to the others who were already about to set up camp. "It's getting dark soon", she closed.

Ashe blinked in surprise. If Penelo hadn't stopped her, she would have walked by without even noticing that the others already stopped.

"Alright", she muttered and sat herself on a nearby rock. She was so tired.

"Are you not feeling so well?" Penelo asked, sitting down beside her.

"I'm fine." Ashe answered. Then she added reluctantly: "I'm just so tired".

"It's ok; they're almost done with setting up our camp. You'll be able to rest soon," Penelo responded happily.

Ashe looked at her in disbelief. How could she remain so happy all the time? It seemed impossible. Didn't she have something to care about? What made her so easy going?

"What is it?" Ashe asked incredulously. "What makes you stay so carefree all the time?"

Penelo seemed to be taken aback by this question. She looked at Ashe, her face deep in a way she hadn't seen before. After a small pause, she said:

"Who said I'm carefree all the time?"

"I say that," Ashe answered her, her eyes never leaving Penelo's. "You never seem to be ill at ease. No matter what's happening, you're taking everything lightly. What's wrong with you?"

Penelo's eyes were turning from surprise to shock. Then they got soft again.

"I am never carefree," She answered in a kind voice. "There's nothing I'm farther away from."

She sighed and looked at the ground, then stood up, turning her back to Ashe.

"I'm never at ease. How can I if I have to be scared everyday that one of you might get hurt or even die?" Her voice was shaking now. "But what would change if I expressed my fears?"

She turned again, looking directly into Ashe's face. "Nothing would change. I'd rather try to be happy, than spend my time worrying any of you." Then she smiled one of her brilliant smiles again. "But I can assure you, feigning smiles is harder than it looks."

Then she left and walked over to Vaan, who was talking to Basch, and jumped into the conversation with her usual cheerfulness.

Ashe still sat on the rock, pondering about what Penelo just had said to her.

A smile crossed her face. Ruling a country did not sound so impossible to her anymore.

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So, this is it. I hope you liked it, review if you want to, but please no flames, I can't stand them :D xD


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